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Meat seized from Muslim-owned restaurant after cow vigilante attack was not beef: forensics

Rabbani Hotel was attacked by cow vigilantes in March

News Desk May 10, 2017

The Rabbani Hotel remains closed since the attack. PHOTO: HINDUSTAN TIMES

Meat confiscated from a hotel in Jaipur after it was attacked by cow- protection vigilantes in March was not beef, the Hindustan Times reported.

Police officials told the newspaper that after inspecting the seized meat, the Forensic Science Laboratory had confirmed the meat did not come from a cow. “We sent the meat samples taken from the hotel to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) for testing. The reports have revealed that the meat was not beef,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Gupta.

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Hotel owner Naeem Rabbani, who suffered a business slump after the incident said “from the very first day, I have been saying that it was chicken but no one from the administration listened to me. The report confirms all allegations levelled on us were false.”

“I have incurred losses of hundreds of thousands of rupees in the past one-and-a-half month and the people who worked in the hotel are also jobless as it is still sealed today,” he added.

Rabbani Hotel was surrounded by cow vigilantes chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Narendra Modi Zindabad” for about six hours on March 19. They accused the management of selling beef, though they had no proof. Soon after, the hotel was sealed by Jaipur Municipal Corporation [JMC] under the supervision of local councillor Nirmala Sharma.

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According to Rabbani, despite a district and sessions court order issued on April 29 telling JMC to open the hotel within seven days, no progress had been made. “It’s been more than seven days now but the JMC hasn’t removed the seal,” he said.

While the forensic results vindicated Rabbani, the Hindu leader who led the attack was unhappy with the conclusion. “I will speak with the police to verify that whether the forensic test of the meat sample has been done correctly or not. Only after that, I will decide the next course of action,” said Sadhvi Jamal ‘Didi’, president of the Rashtriya Mahila Gauraksha Dal.